


Skip

by Anjelle



Category: One Piece
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-26
Updated: 2014-10-15
Packaged: 2018-02-18 20:38:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2361452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anjelle/pseuds/Anjelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During a battle 10 years from now, Pirate King Luffy is caught in an explosion. Now he finds himself on the Whitebeard's ship the Moby Dick and all of the pirates who died at Marineford - such as Ace and Whitebeard - are alive. How did he end up over 10 years in the past and what will he do next?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Backwards Battlefield

He appeared from the smoke and rubble of the open battlefield, the only one unscathed. The man stood tall, arms crossed in a bout of confidence as he watched the hundreds of others fight around him. His raven strands hid the better half of his face in shadows, leaving his grinning mouth as his most distinguishable feature.

A tall man stood across the battlefield. He clenched his teeth and gripped his bloodied arm, clearly in worse shape than his foe. His blue eyes never left his target and the proud man before him made his move. That  _bastard_  hadn't broken a sweat. Captain's jacket hung over his shoulders, the man continued his smile and stretched. All of the destruction he had caused up to that moment was a warm-up for him – a test run. But he wouldn't lose. There was still one more thing he could do.

"Ready to give up?" the blue-eyed man asked as his battered body began to fail him.  _Just a little longer._

At this his opponent laughed. The amusement in his voice made his stomach churn. He was a cocky bastard, no doubt.

"Got a secret move?"

"As a matter of fact…" The raven-haired man's interest grew. He stopped where he was and watched with a wicked grin. His broken opponent took the last of his energy to stand tall. He stretched out both of his hands: the right began to emit a bright light while the left was enveloped in blackness. "You haven't asked what my devil fruit is."

"Oh?"

"I'm afraid you've reached the end, Pirate King." His hands collided in his center and the darkness and light collided and spiraled around his figure.

"Afraid that's not enough."

"You're delusional!"

He aimed the two energies at the Pirate King and released them. They surrounded the man whose smile never faded. Both sides ceased their fighting to marvel at the sight in bewilderment. The black-haired man's allies stared in horror while his enemies laughed in victory. This was it. As he watched the figure clad in red vanish, he heard one final sound.

"Shishishi!"

Ace woke from his narcoleptic fit, greeted by the amused faces of his crew. He yawned and stretched and yet their eyes never left them. The man eyed them as a warning. He wasn't in the best of moods as of late. It felt great when he took Whitebeard's mark, but now he was faced with the important decision of whether he would take the title of second division commander. It was an honor to be considered, but it wasn't something he was prepared to take on. The crew still didn't know about his secret. Whitebeard still didn't know.

As he continued his internal battle, Thatch decided that it was time to bother the kid. He swung his arm over Fire Fist's shoulders and was met with a surprised jump. He let out a hearty laugh.

"Made your decision yet, kid?"

"I don't know."

"Just take it! We've been without a second division commander for-"

Before the man could finish, their ship was met with a massive explosion. Men scurried across the deck in a feeble attempt to survey the situation. It was chaos all around and in the middle was a thick, black smoke.

* * *

Ace's eyes almost jumped from their sockets. Who would  _dare_ attack Whitebeard's ship? Nothing like that had happened before. Whitebeard was untouchable – the strongest man in the world. No one messed with him or his crew.

He slowly rose to his feet and took a look around. No one knew what to do. They assumed there was a fire and prepared buckets of water to throw into the smoke. Before they had the chance to act, coughing came from the smoke.  _A person?_

Whitebeard himself was not phased and remained calm as his sons scurried about in panicked confusion. He'd been through a lot during his reign and this was far from the least expected. Every once in a while some fool would attack him thinking he was strong and would later be pummeled by his crew. What concerned him was that there was nothing around them: no islands, ships, or even seakings. That was unnatural.

"Damn Yonko!" shouted a voice from the point of impact.

The smoke finally lifted to reveal a man dressed in a red Captain's jacket and black shorts that went just below his knees. His hair was dark ebony as were his eyes and a curved scar adorned his left cheek. He didn't seem strong or special in any way. In fact, he was rather scrawny.

The man straightened himself out and cussed under his breath as he dusted himself off. It was interesting to them that he was free of injury despite the impact he made. Then he paused and stared at the crowd on deck. He blinked twice with large, blank eyes before he casually waved their way. Then he took a look at the broken wood at his feet and slowly grasped the situation.

"Oh," he said simply, realization washing over him, "sorry about that."

Then he began circling around. It seemed he was searching for something and, after seeing no sight of it, simply grew in confusion. He noticed that he was out at sea and not in a battlefield. He tilted his head, folded his arms and let out an exasperated sigh. "Must've flown pretty far."

"Who are you?" Jozu asked the question everyone wanted to ask and the man's first reply was a burst of laughter.

"You don't know?" The crew shook their heads. "Well, it's not important."

Then his eyes fell on Whitebeard and he simply marveled at his presence. The strongest man in the world was before him, but that wasn't what elicited his reaction. No, this wasn't right. Whitebeard should not be there. Now he was starting to understand what the Yonko had done, or at least intended. This wasn't where he belonged.

"Oi, giant ossan," he called out, the crew baffled at his lack of manners, "you're alive?"

What had the stranger just asked? Was Whitebeard  _alive?_  To them it sounded like a threat, but the old man interpreted it differently. This man was no enemy. He wasn't hostile or angry or anything more than simply interested in the Yonko. His question was sincere.

Many of the commanders blocked the path between the two protectively. They weren't about to allow that stranger attack him, even if he was no match for him. Whitebeard was getting old. He didn't need to use his strength unnecessarily. They were surprised when their Captain laughed. He wasn't weary of the boy in the slightest.

Seeing the Yonko's reaction, the stranger relaxed and sat down cross-legged with a smile. The two laughed together and then fell into silence. Whitebeard finished his study of the man and leaned back in his large chair. He rested his head on his fist and gave the man an odd look.

"Where are we, exactly?"

"The first half of the New World."

The man whistled and laughed at this. "I was flown pretty far! Shishishi!"

Ace's eyes narrowed. The stranger's laugh was oddly familiar. He had never seen him, though. Scanning his features once more, he noted that the man was probably in his late twenties. He didn't seem strong or intelligent. If it wasn't for his overdone arrival, no member of the crew would bother to look his way.

"Who are you, boy?" bellowed the old man, catching the attention of the stranger. He decided that he would comply. He was still relaxing on the charred and broken wood of the deck. His grin stretched further so that his mouth reached ear-to-ear. Then he stood.

"Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy."

Needless to say, everyone was shocked. This man claimed to be the Pirate King, a title given only to the one who obtained everything the world had to offer. They would laugh, but it was so ridiculous that they went quiet.

Ace was shocked for a different reason. This man had claimed to be his  _brother._  He had to be mad. Something was not right about him. Pirate King or not, no one takes the name of his brother.

"Oi!" Ace shouted. The man turned to him. Once he saw his face his already large eyes doubled. Ace stepped forward in a rather intimidating stance. He wasn't going to let him lie about that. "Quit with the lies."

"Ace…" Luffy's eyes remained blank. He didn't know how to react to that and just kept watching, trying to understand how something like that was possible. Ace was dead. He died in his arms 10 years ago. Why was he there? Why was Whitebeard there? He continued to stare in a daze until his brother was right in front of him.

"Why don't you tell us the truth?"

"You know each other or something?" Marco interjected, curiosity reaching its peak. He saw the expression on the stranger's face and knew that something wasn't right. He had to know what that something was.

"Not at all," Ace shot back without hesitation."

"Yeah, we do," the man contradicted. He collapsed to the ground to try to calm down. There was too much going on in his head. He was starting to understand what the Yonko had done. Finally it was all making sense. But the situation was not in his favour. "He's my brother."

_This is bad._

 


	2. And it Begins

Everyone's eyes focused on the two boys, mouths agape and eyes enlarged. They hadn't expected that. They didn't even know that Ace had any family – or that said family told such exaggerated lies. Pirate King? No. The only Pirate King was Gold Roger and he'd long since been executed.

"You don't believe him, do you?" Ace asked, irritation growing with each avoided glance. They did and that just made him want to hit them all. That stranger couldn't be his brother. Luffy was still only a 16-year-old boy and, although there were similarities, he didn't have a straw hat. He carried himself differently as well. There was something off about him – something he couldn't trust. This man, whoever he really was, was no ordinary man.

"I don't blame you, Ace." The stranger was scratching his head and pouting in a childish manner. He sighed, as if disappointed, and looked into Fire Fist's eyes. He had managed to calm himself down despite his desire to run up and hug the bastard. This was no time for him to freak out. He needed to think, as hard as that was. "This shouldn't have happened."

"What, yoi?" Marco asked. He didn't think the stranger was an enemy because Whitebeard didn't and he trusted his Captain's judgement. This man also didn't seem to be lying – his expression was sincere. That was something he'd learned to notice over the years. It was a rare sight on a pirate, though.

"This isn't my timeline. Bastard Yonko sent me into the past." Luffy ignored their reactions and cursed himself internally. He should have figured his opponent had a power like that, but he didn't know because all of his opponents would disappear. That explained why. Of course, he underestimated him without even seeing the power he used. That was a stupid mistake. He'd done it before, but this was the first time his confidence had landed him with such dire consequences. It was great to see his brother again, but he knew Ace well. Ace was stubborn and once he believed something it was hard to change his mind. There was little hope for them to spend time together because of that. Also, he had to get back. His crew and allies were in danger. They were all badly injured. This was no time to play around in the past.

"Is that so?" Marco asked, accepting it immediately. Whoever he was, he was being honest. There was something in his eyes that told him so. The old man seemed to agree. "So, Oyaji, what should we do about this, yoi?" He turned to the Captain and awaited his orders, but could see from the corner of his eye that Ace was not pleased.

"You're just going to accept it? Just like that?"

"Doesn't seem like the type to lie, yoi."

"But-"

"He can stay if he chooses," Whitebeard declared, leaving no room for questioning. Ace clenched his fist and dropped the subject. If the old man said it was okay, he had no reason to object. The Captain made all of the decisions.

Luffy looked at Whitebeard with a large grin. It seemed that someone was on his side. He stood and walked nearer to the giant man. "So you believe me?"

"I've heard of that Devil Fruit before. It seems a man from West Blue recently ate it."

"Then I'll accept your offer," Luffy stated. He beamed up at the old Yonko who smiled slightly back.

* * *

Though few dared to approach him, all of the crewmembers were curious about that self-titled Pirate King. He sat at the far end of the dining hall, stuffing his face with food and booze. The chef had trouble keeping up with both him and Ace, who was seated at a table near him. All of them marveled at his appetite and the fact that he was even worse than their own infamous black hole. So many questions ran through their heads as they watched. This was the man who claimed to be the strongest in the sea. He was said to have attained all the world had to offer and yet here he was eating all of their food and drinking their rum.

"Have your fill yet, yoi?" Marco took his seat next to the man as he devoured another chunk of meat. He was drawn to the man for one reason or another. The rest of the crew quieted themselves so that they could hear their conversation. Marco was the only one willing to approach him but everyone wanted to know more. This was their chance.

"Nope."

"Didn't think so." He watched as the man with the scar shovelled more into his mouth. It was disgusting but impressive. Luffy realized who he was talking to. He remembered Marco from his time – they had become quite close allies over the years. And drinking buddies. This Marco didn't know him, though. They first met when they fought alongside at Marineford, which clearly hadn't happened yet.

"Thanks Marco," Luffy mumbled between bites. He had always missed the chance to tell him that before, so he would say it now.

"For what?"

Luffy kept his voice down. He really didn't need everyone hearing them. Marco, he knew, could handle the information. The rest of the Whitebeard pirates' reactions were questionable. He knew the commanders and some others by name but still didn't know them well enough to say anything. "For what you're going to do for Ace."

"I take it you know me, yoi?" The man nodded with a smile. It was probably best that he didn't say any more for the time.

Ace approached them. His curiosity had overwhelmed his anger and irritation. And, with no one better to take out his frustration on, why not bother the liar? He noticed that the man was watching him approach. The Luffy he knew wouldn't be able to focus on anything other than food. Another difference. He sat down across from them. "If you're Luffy then where's your hat?" He had him now. Luffy always kept that with him.

"With Nami."

"Who?"

"My nakama. I didn't want to get blood on it so I let her hold onto it."

"You don't let anyone touch that hat."

"I do now." Luffy was glad that Ace had said "you" instead of "he". It showed that maybe there was some hope. He did want to talk to Ace before he left. It had been 10 years since he last heard that voice. Being in the past made it seem like every night he spent thinking of his brother were just dreams. It was eerie and yet he couldn't be more excited. He didn't want to show that, though. He knew that if he freaked out over it they would start asking questions. Was he supposed to tell them about Ace's death or not? He would have to think it over before making that decision.


End file.
